Firefall
by Cynthia "Kiki" Pettit

Cynthia Pettit, Firefall, interactive sculpture of metal, ceramic, water and fire, 6 x 3 ft. 2001.
(© Cynthia Pettit. Photo ©: Ron Samuel Klatchko.)


Cynthia Pettit, Egeria Firefall, interactive sculpture of metal, ceramic, water and fire,12 ft tall, surrounded by a 25-ft diameter courtyard, 2002.
(© Cynthia Pettit. Photo: Michael Harrison.)


The Firefall (sketch), pencil drawing, 2001.
(© Cynthia Pettit.)


The Firefall is a water fountain on fire. The Cauldron is a two-tiered fountain, like some fountain in an Italian villa but on fire! The firefall was inspired on a camping trip with my friend Leslie. He brought all the camping gear, so I brought the food and fuel for his camping stove. We filled it up, but it wouldn't light. We discovered that the new bottle of fuel I'd bought was full of water -- someone had used it up and returned it filled with water. It was a blessing in disguise. We emptied his stove into a paper cup, and -- having nothing to do and nothing to eat -- he lit the fuel. It burned for a while, down to the level of the water, then went out. I thought, "that's kinda cool!" This was the summer of 1998. I started doing experiments to see if I could maintain a flame on flowing water by continually injecting fuel under the water, and the firefall was born. After it was done, I knew I had to build something larger for Burning Man.

Firefall water flows mirror-calm in a thin sheet over the lip, with yellow flames swirling across the top, and sheets of soft, blue flames chasing up and down over the edge. The top bowl is at an easy height for people to scoop up the flaming water in their bare hands. A small amount of fuel is added just under the water to rise and spread, like a drop of oil, as thin as possible across the surface. Once the fuel is lit, it appears as if the water itself is on fire. Fuel is continuously pumped to the top to maintain the flames, and all of the fuel is burned up at the bottom so none is recirculated with the water. You can hold the flaming water in your bare hands because the water comes between you and the fuel, protecting you.

The Cauldron is [removed: the largest firefall I have built. It is] 6' wide at the bottom and stands just over 3' tall. It holds approximately 450 gallons of water, all told, and has a gas powered water pump that recirculates at 15,600gph (gallons per hour) -- nearly 4 gallons a second -- through massive 3" diameter hoses and pipes. It burns 5 gallons of camping fuel, or naphtha, in a couple hours, and can heat that water to the point of too-hot-to-hold in about three hours.

Using found items both to realize my vision as well as drive it, I scoured such diverse resources as industrial salvage yards, agricultural equipment distributors, petroleum wholesalers and residential landscapers. It was built for Burning Man 1999 and has returned to Burning Man every year since.

For safety reasons, I light the Cauldron only at night -- because the small blue flames are difficult to see in ergency. Once lit, the fuel is adjusted so the flame stays lit at the top (for aesthetic reasons) and below (to continually burn off all extra fuel.) Because people interact with the firefall, at least two spotters make sure people's hair and costumes are tucked away, thought there have been no incidents at all in over two years and over 30 hours of run-time at Burning Man and elsewhere.

Though The Cauldron may seem big, it is dwarfed by the vast playa at Burning Man. When lit, the crowd around it is close and quiet. People are drawn in and often don't leave until the fuel and water pump are shut off for the night. Unlike other large, explosive, in-your-face fire art at Burning Man, The Cauldron firefall invites people to touch the flames in an intimate and personal way.

The latest firefall I built had the honor of being placed in the Keyhole position at Burning Man 2002 -- the central art piece of Black Rock City, where the road from the Man comes into the road around Center Camp. Egeria -- named after the Roman goddess of fountains who cried so long for her dead lover that she became a fountain -- stood over 12' tall, with a 25' diameter courtyard around it, where people could meet, and sit to contemplate the fountain and the City.

Cynthia "Kiki" Pettit
6000 Mauritania Ave.
Oakland, Ca 94605
U.S.A.
Email: kiki@kiki.org
Web: http://burningideas.com/firefall

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